Today I bring you information about the book launch of Jo Robinson a great author, fantastic blogger, good friend, and a colleague always happy to share her knowledge. We are part of the team at Literary World Interviews and I’m very excited about her new book, as it touches a subject that, being a psychiatrist, I’m fascinated by.
Without any further blah, blah, I leave you with Jo and Echoes of Narcissus in the Garden of Delights.
Donna thought there was something wrong with her. That she was suffering from a mental illness that has caused her husband to despise her, distance himself from her, and cheat on her. She blames herself for the desolate, miserable thing that is her marriage and her life. Then she comes across a book that will change everything for her, and reading it, she discovers that there’s nothing wrong with her mind at all, but that there is something very wrong with her husband instead. Marco, she realises, is a malignant narcissist. A text book case. He has a real and documented mental disorder, and that he’s been controlling, manipulating, and abusing her for decades. The sudden full knowledge of all that he’s purposely done to her enrages her. Not sure how to leave after thirty years of what she finally knows has been intentional mental and emotional abuse from him, and believing that she has nowhere to turn, being so physically isolated, she bides her time.
Then she meets and befriends a group of unusual people who share her passion for gardening, and so begins her journey to escape. She joins her new friends in their project to assist elderly people in old age homes care for their small gardens, as well as secretly supplying those suffering from painful and terminal illnesses with medicinal herb and plant remedies, including illegal plants such as cannabis. As weeks go by, she delves into her memories, relearns what it is to be respected, liked, and loved again, and slowly she formulates a plan to safely leave her dangerous husband. But unbeknownst to Donna, Marco is in serious trouble, and has desperate plans of his own, and absolutely no regard for her safety.
** This is a work of fiction, but malignant narcissists really do exist, and it is a recognised mental illness. Unfortunately, many people never realise that they are involved with a narcissist, because their actions are so demonically bad as to be unimaginable and unbelievable, and so they spend their lives in misery, depression, fear, and isolation. If only by the accidental reading of a fictional story, I hope that this book will help even one person, unknowingly suffering narcissistic abuse, to realise that they don’t have to, and that it’s never too late to start over, be happy, be fulfilled, to love and care for yourself, and be truly loved and respected by others.
Jo Robinson very recently returned to her homeland, South Africa, after having lived in rural Zimbabwe for eighteen years. Her obsessive affection for the African continent, most humans, and all creatures feathered and furred are what inspire her writing. She is the author of African Me & Satellite TV, the science-fiction/fantasy series Shadow People, and a couple of short stories, which will be free to download from Amazon from 26 to 30 December,Fly Birdie and The Visitation.
To win eBook copies of Shadow People and African Me & Satellite TV, send Jo a message from THIS page.
As you know I’ve started NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and I promised you I’d be taking blogging easy and reblogging or reposting some old posts, but before that, I had some things pending that I tried to fit in (yes, I pre-program some posts).
As people seemed quite keen on the recipe I shared for Créme Catalane, I decided to leave you another one of the recipes I share in my book I Love Your Cupcakes, this time a good old-fashioned cake. This one I’ve actually baked myself, although some time ago, and the recipe I used is slightly different to this one, but I must say this one looks awesome:
Still from the film Julie & Julia that I recommend, especially if you’re a foodie and a blogger
Reine de Saba
(Chocolate and Almond Cake)
Yield: One 8-inch cake
Recipe by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking
For the Cake:
4 ounces or squares semi-sweet Chocolate
2 tablespoons of Rum
4 ounces softened butter
⅔ cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
¼ teaspoon of cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
⅔ cup pulverized almonds or 1 cup of almonds to pulverize
¼ tsp almond extract
For the Glaçae au Chocolat (Chocolate-Butter Icing):
2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
2 tablespoons of Rum
5 to 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup cake flour (scooped and leveled) turned into a sifter
Pre-heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour the cake pan.
Set the chocolate and rum in a small pan with a tight cover, and place (off heat) in a larger pan of almost simmering water; let melt while you proceed with the recipe. Measure out the rest of the ingredients.
Pulverize your almonds in your food processor, about a cup. Add a tablespoon of sugar to avoid the almond oils to lump up.
Cream the butter and sugar together for several minutes until they form a pale yellow, fluffy mixture.
Beat in the egg yolks until well blended.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.
With a rubber spatula, blend the melted chocolate into the butter and sugar mixture, then stir in almonds, and almond extract.
Immediately stir one-fourth of the beaten egg whites to lighten the batter.
Delicately fold in a third of the remaining whites and when partially blended, sift on one-third of the flour and continue folding. Alternate rapidly with more egg whites and more flour until all egg whites and flour are incorporated.
Turn the batter into the cake pan, pushing the batter up to its rim with a rubber spatula. Bake in middle level of preheated oven for about 25 minutes.
Cake is done when it has puffed, and 2½ to 3 inches around the circumference are set so that a needle plunged into that area comes out clean; the center should move slightly if the pan is shaken, and a needle comes out oily.
Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run knife around the edge of the pan, and reverse cake on the rack.
Allow it to cool for an hour or two; it must be thoroughly cold if it is to be iced.
For the Icing, place the chocolate and rum in the small pan, cover, and set in the larger pan of almost simmering water.
Remove pans from heat and let chocolate melt for 5 minutes or so, until perfectly smooth.
Lift chocolate pan out of the hot water, and beat in the butter a tablespoon at a time with the help of a rubber spatula. If the mixture starts to cool off too fast, place the chocolate pan again in hot water and beat in the butter until it fully incorporates.
Then beat over the ice and water until chocolate mixture has cooled to spreading consistency. This will take about 3 minutes.
At once spread it over your cake with spatula or knife, and press a design of almonds over the icing.
Notes:
You can replace the rum for coffee: 1 tablespoon of instant coffee dissolved in 2 tablespoons of boiling water.
Here I leave you a link of Julia Child baking the Queen of Sheba Cake. I must admit the version I have baked myself had neither coffee nor rum and it did not add any frosting, although her version looks Amazing! (And if you’ve never watched the movie Julie & Julia I can’t recommend it highly enough, especially if you’re interested in cooking and blogging.)
This one from wildcranberryhookedrugs.wordpress.com looks much more like mine
As you can see from my blog (and thanks to Sarah Vernon from whom I “borrowed” the icon for award free blog. Don’t miss the chance to check her fabulous blog First Night Design) I’m an award free blog. For a variety of reasons. A bit over a year ago there were so many awards making the rounds that I could no longer find people who had the time to keep the chain going or to comply with some of the requirements, and I felt I was spending more time doing that than actually blogging. I wanted to focus more on may writing so I decided (after seeing what great friend and blogger Teagan Geneviene did), to do regular posts sharing some of the blogs I’d come across that I thought might be of interest to some of my readers.
Net World Network Image courtesy of Vlado / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
So far I had only done a couple of these posts and kept a list going. The list is getting quite long now, and in the last few weeks I’ve been nominated for a number of awards. Although I’m not going to follow the rules (sorry, I’m award free), I wanted to thank Jo Robinson (who was on my next list and you must visit as she’s extremely entertaining in showing us life on the wild side, and she’s tremendously generous with her advise on writing, interviews and has joined a team doing great job to promote other writers, that now I’m a part of too, although not very active until after November), Lord David Prosser (a gentleman who shares his life, writings, reblogs and interviews his fellow authors, actually, me just last week) and Elaine Canham (who makes me laugh often when she shares funny stuff, and can write about the trade, about a bus trip, or reflect incisively on everyday life, and who was also in my list of new blogs to recommend) for their nominations. Do check them out, they’re amazing.
And here I leave you some other blogs I’ve discovered recently and I hope you enjoy too (if you haven’t met them yet):
Smorgasbord – Variety is the Spice of Life (Sally Cronin’s blog: great blog full of information on health related topics, personal experiences, special features like the Sunday interviews, where Sally interviews writers, artists, musicians, and she’s also fabulous at discovering and sharing other people’s blogs. She reblogs fabulous content too and I rely on her to keep me up to date with great content I might not have come across. Unmissable!)
Inesemj Photography (photography with a wonderful eye for spots and places you would not have thought about, Irish themes, and wonderful and interesting information, including tips on photography)
Janet Weight Reed (artist who shares her work and experiences related to art. I love her love of colour and her hummingbirds! And don’t miss her posts on her process of creation and her videos. And she’s even gone where no other people do, and read my cupcake book and left me a wonderful review. Thank you Janet!)
Ronovan Writes (Ronovan not only interviews other authors, and thanks for the wonderful interview, Ronovan!, but also offers his advice and experience in promoting others. He has teamed up with our friend Jo Robinson and keeps building up a group of people invested in promoting writers. Yes, he’s also decided I might be able to help with reviews and other content.He bogs his own content but shares most advice for writers in this great resource. Do not miss!)
Chronic Conditions and Life Lessons (Kim Goselin. I met Kim through Sally Cronin and she’s one of a group of bloggers who regularly meet in Twitter and we keep each other going. I hope we can all make it in person one day.)
Cate Russell-Cole (I’ve know Cate for quite a while now but she had to take a bit of a break from blogging. Now she’s back offering comprehensive advice on writing, sharing any useful information she comes across and also taking part in NaNoWriMo. We’re writing buddies, so she’s having a bit of a breather in November, but go and check all of her advice. Go Cate!):
Billy Ray Chitwood (he has quite a few blogs going, but he’s a prolific writer and juggles them very well. I appreciate his reflections on life, love his very short fiction, and recommend that you check the comments too, as recently he even offered us a masterful rendition of a song in the best crooner style):
C-Dog and Company (Because dogs and cats are family…) by Debra Levy. (I started reading her posts about her pets but it didn’t take me long to realise the whole universe meets there):
Aquileana (I reccomend this blog especially if you enjoy Mythology, Philosophy and the Classics. Exquisite taste in choosing classics and gorgeous images and art works to illustrate the stories). The blogs are in Spanish and English so if you want to practice…
I’ll keep noting down blogs, because there are so many great bloggers around I think this will go on, and on…
Ah, I did promise I’d do the workplace/writing place blog (thanks Jo) but due to my current circumstances it might be a while, but if anybody wants to take it up and show us (pictures are more than welcome) their writing place, consider yourself nominated!
And just in case you didn’t come across my two previous post about blogs to check, here are the links:
As an aside, I Love Your Cupcakesis now available in paper. Anybody needs any presents?
I Love Your Cupcakes by Olga Núñez Miret. Cover by Lourdes Vidal
Thanks to all of you for reading, to the fantastic bloggers for visiting, to my friends and fellow bloggers for the nominations, and you know, like, share, comment, and of course, CLICK!
As you know on Fridays I bring you guest authors and/or literary novelties. I’ve known Jo Robinson for a while, but recently we’ve been interacting more through her fantastic blog, where she shares everything, from her adventures in health, post offices and moving across countries, to humorous videos, and also the posts of many others. Jo is generous in the extreme and she has helped me meet many other bloggers that might otherwise have passed me by. And she’s a great writer, so I thought she more than deserved a visit to my blog.
Here she is!
Author Jo Robinson
I was born in the windy city of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, but consider myself a citizen of the world. I live with my husband Angus, a dog with an odd sense of humour, four birds, and some chickens.
My stories are mostly about people, and the sometimes dark twists that life takes. I also write science fiction / fantasy books. Shadow People is the first in the Lapillus series.
Hannah’s life has given her no reason to be anything but bitter and afraid. She tries to hold on to her sanity as her life spirals further into superstition and dread, until a small averted tragedy leads to the melting of her heart, and teaches her how to love.
Jo participated in this anthology for a great cause.
Plight of the Rhino: A Wildlife Anthology by Springbok Publications
Plight of the Rhino is the first wildlife anthology by Springbok Publications.
The stories and poems, written by international writers, depict wildlife in all its glory. The book will take you on a journey across continents and introduce you to some iconic as well as lesser known wildlife species. These heartfelt stories recognise the joys of the animal kingdom and the heartache of poaching and extinction, facing our wildlife today.
We will donate a minimum of £1 from the sale of each book to Save the Rhino International. To find out more about its rhino conservation work please visit http://www.savetherhino.org
Stories and Poems by: Teresa Ashby, Chris Brown, Liz Cox, Jean Dawson, Kirsty Ferry, Teresa Fouché, Elizabeth Glanville, Debz Hobbs-Wyatt, Amanda James, Sandra Jensen, Elizabeth Koufidou, Elaine McKenna, Dulcinea Norton-Smith, Emma Louise Oram, Christine Parmenter, Rebecca Raisin, Paula RC Readman, Jo Robinson, Gill Sainsbury, Holly Stacey, Amos van der Merwe, Tanja Vermaak, Stephen Wade, Matthew Glenn Ward All contributors kindly waived their fees for this worthy cause. Let’s save the rhino!
For many years Suzette has managed very well to live her life without actually taking part in it, avoiding any possibility of pain by very carefully ignoring reality. Until something happens. Something so terrible that she has no choice but to abandon her cocoon of safety.
After the brutal beating of an elderly domestic worker, Suzette takes her in, and sets off a chain of events that leads to devastating heartbreak. And an unexpected hero changes everything. Finally finding her voice, she speaks out, and her world explodes, culminating in the death of a very special man.
On her path to make amends, she discovers the story of his life, connects with the people of his past, and finds the chance to fully live her life once again if that’s what she chooses to.
After Natalie and Gabe discover a hidden room, they are hurled across time and space, and find themselves on Lapillus, a beautiful world made up of precious gems. But they soon realise that Lapillus is home to an ancient evil when they are attacked by the demonic wraiths of the Nefandus.
They find themselves thrown together with a group of beings vastly different to them in this lifetime, but closely connected through the aeons. They realise that the prophesies of all have come to fruition, and that without their intervention the fate of the universe is at stake.
With the guidance of the angelic Gluri and the help of the mysterious sentient spacecraft, the Vimana, the race is on to find out what the Nefandus want, and prevent evil from winning the battle of all time.
Una gran escritora y bloguera, Jo Robinson, me invitó a un blog hop (como una cadena) que se llama ‘Conoce a mis personajes’. Yo no suelo participar en estas cosas porque siento que pones a alguien en un compromiso y mucha gente no tiene demasiado tiempo para dedicarle al blog, pero por si acaso os parece una buena idea responder a las preguntas para hablar de vuestros personajes, las comparto y os cuento algo sobre el libro que estoy preparando.
Cupcake flower
1. ¿Cuál es el nombre de tu personaje? ¿Es él / ella de ficción o un personaje histórico?
Me he decidido a hablar de la novela en la que estoy trabajando ahora (la versión inglesa está acabada y la estoy corriegiendo, así que … ¡deseadme suerte!). El título de momento (que probablemente será definitivo) es ‘I Love Your Cupcakes’ (Me encantan tus cupcakes). Hay dos personajes principales (bueno, tres, aunque dos aparecen un poco más que el tercero), Dulce y Adelfa. Se trata de dos amigas de la infancia y son ficticios. El tercero se llama Sebastián, aunque prefiere que le llamen Storm y es medio-hermano de Adelfa.
2. ¿Cuándo y dónde se desarrolla la historia?
La historia se sitúa en la actual EE.UU., aunque no en una ciudad específica sino en algún lugar de mi imaginación. Espero que exista algún sitio similar y me encantaría visitar e incluso vivir allí.
3. ¿Qué debemos saber sobre él / ella?
Dulce tiene unos treinta años. Su madre era española y se murió cuando Dulce era muy joven. Tenía muchos amigos y era una gran cocinera. Su padre, un ingeniero, se volvió a casar con la madre de su mejor amiga, Adelfa, que es el otro personaje principal en el libro. Adelfa estudió Química, como su madre, y da clases en la universidad.
4. ¿Cuál es el conflicto principal? ¿Qué le complica la vida?
Dulce ha probado a hacer muchas cosas en la vida, pero no ha logrado encontrar su verdadera vocación. Animada por Adelfa decide tratar de montar su propio negocio, y con Adelfa y su medio hermano de Adelfa, Storm, montan una pastelería muy especial. La historia transcurre en dos períodos de tiempo, uno que cubre la creación de la tienda, y el otro, unos años más tarde, cuando el equipo está participando en un concurso de cocina de la tele.
5. ¿Cuál es el objetivo personal del personaje?
Dulce quiere demostrar que se le puede dar bien algo y que tiene talento. Adelfa es muy buena en su trabajo, pero no consigue que sus relaciones amorosas le funcionen. Ella quiere llegar a tener tanto éxito en su vida personal como en su vida profesional.
6. ¿Tienes algún título para esta novela, y podemos leer más sobre ella?
‘I Love Your Cupcakes’ (Me encantan tus cupcakes). En un momento de la novela un personaje masculino, Rock, le dice a Dulce “Me encantan tus ojos” y ella comenta que eso representa un cambio con respecto a ‘Me encantan tus pasteles o tus cupcakes “que es lo que le dicen los hombres casi siempre. Suelo actualizar mi página web y todas mis conexiones con las redes, y definitivamente iré publicando avances en mi blog.
7. ¿Cuándo podemos esperar que sea publicado el libro?
Estoy corrigiendo y editando la versión inglesa. Luego lo traduciré así que probablemente en otoño si no hay contratiempos. Creo que podrías ser un buen regalo de Navidad.
Gracias a todos por leer, ya sabéis que podéis darle al me gusta, comentar, compartir y hacer CLIC si os apetece, y a los escritores que estéis preparando nueva obra, si queréis llevaros las preguntas y seguir rodando con el blog, consideraros invitados.
Seaside N. 1 Fire Station (MA)
Sí, he puesto una foto de un parque de bomberos deliberadamente. Y sí, tiene relación con el libro. Y ahora, a esperar y a leérselo!
Por cierto, una de mis seguidoras (amiga, escritora, y con un gran blog, Teagan Geneviene) me recordó mis tableros de Pinterest. Tengo dos relacionados con este libro, así que pensé que igual os interesaba visitarlos.
En uno tengo pins de cupcakes, pasteles, y cosas dulces en general:
As you might or might not have noticed, I stopped participating in blogging awards or blog hops that involved nominating other people as I always preferred to make sure the person would have time to do it or it fitted in with their schedule (I tend to prepare and schedule my posts in advance and I know others do too), and found it very time consuming. When wonderful Jo Robinsonauthor of The Ghost Writer Chronicles, a writer and blogger I admire and follow, who produces great content, finds true jewels (I always look forward to her funny posts early in the week) very generous sharing and reblogging other authors, tagged me onto the Meet My Main Characters blog hop unexpectedly, I found myself in a quandary. On the one hand, I’m aware there were at least a couple of other writer friends who had asked if I would take part (I think it was this blog hop although there is also the writing process one doing the rounds, so I’m not so sure), and I told them I didn’t take part in these things any longer. I also realised most of the authors I know have already taken part in it. I did ask one person who said no. On the other hand I thought I should at least thank Jo…And it might be as good a chance as any other to tell you a bit about the book I’m working on (I’ve completed the draft and I’m editing it. As I’ll also publish it in Spanish there’s some time to go yet). And although I won’t nominate anybody, if somebody who hasn’t taken part yet and reads this post wants to do it, please be my guests!
Lesser Being, Emmeline (draft cover) by Jo Robinson
And without further ado, here are the questions.
1. What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?
I’ve decided to talk about the novel in progress I’m working on now. My working title (that it’s likely to be the final one) is ‘I Love Your Cupcakes’. There are two main characters (well, three, although two appear a bit more than the third one), Dulce and Adelfa. They are two childhood friends and they’re fictional. The third one, Sebastian, who prefers to be called Storm, is half-brother of Adelfa. But that’s a whole story in its own right and you’ll have to read the book to know about it.
2. When and where is the story set?
The story is set in modern day US, although the place is somewhere in my imagination. I hope a similar place exists and I’d love to visit and even live there.
3. What should we know about him/her?
Dulce is in her early thirties. Her mother was Spanish and she lost her when she was quite young. She had many friends and was a great cook. Her father, an engineer, married the mother of her best friend, Adelfa, who is the other main character in the book. Adelfa studied Chemistry, like her mother, and she teaches at university. Storm is an artist.
4. What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?
Dulce has tried many things in life but hasn’t managed to find her true calling. Encouraged by Adelfa she decides to try and go into business, and with Adelfa and Adelfa’s half-brother, Storm they set up a pretty special cake shop. The story takes place in two periods of time, one covering the setting up of the shop, and one, a few years later, when the team have been entered into a TV baking competition.
5. What is the personal goal of the character?
Dulce wants to prove that she can be good at something and has a talent. Adelfa is very good at her job but doesn’t seem to manage to make any of her relationships last. She wants to become as successful in her personal life as she is in her professional life.
Cupcake flower
6. Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?
I Love Your Cupcakes. At some point in the novel a character tells Dulce ‘I love your eyes’ and she observes that it makes a change from ‘I love your cakes or your cupcakes’ that is what she hears most of the time. I tend to update my website and my social media sites with news, and I’ll definitely be posting in my blog with updates.
I’m in the process of correcting and editing it. I always publish my books both in Spanish and English so there’s the process of translation yet to come but I hope sometime in the Autumn…I think it would make a nice Christmas present.
As I mentioned I’m not going to be tagging anybody, but if anyone wants to tell us something about their characters, please, I’d love to hear, and don’t worry about tagging me back!
Thanks for reading and if you’ve enjoyed it please, share, comment, like and of course, take part if you want! And CLICK!
Seaside N. 1 Fire Station (MA)
And yes, there is a reason why I post a picture of a fire-station. And it has to do with the book…Now, you’ll have to wait and read it!
By the way, Teagan Geneviene (thanks Teagan!) just reminded me of my Pinterest boards. I have two that are related to the book. One has cupcakes, sweets and treats, and I can’t help adding more to it, so you might want to check it (but not if you’re hungry!):
Just Olga 